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Local firefighters battled a fire at the Pleasanton Garbage Service transfer station last Friday evening after something dumped at the facility ignited and spread through the refuse pile and up to a wall of the structure, according to a Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department spokesman.
Fire crews were able to knock down the flames within about 15 minutes and prevent extensive damage to the transfer station building, according to LPFD battalion chief Matt Thau. One firefighter was treated for overexhaustion at a local hospital and released back to duty later that night.
The incident unfolded at around 7:15 p.m. Friday (Oct. 4), with a call coming in for an alarm at the transfer station on Busch Road. As LPFD units were en route, a PGS employee called in to report flames had spread to the structure, which increased the number of crews responding, including assistance from the Alameda County Fire Department in Dublin.
Firefighters arrived to find smoke and fire inside the building, which is the metal-framed structure – somewhat open-aired – where garbage, recyclables and other refuse are initially offloaded and sorted before being transported to the landfill.
The site can be tricky to navigate because smoke tends to linger inside despite the large openings, especially on a still day like Friday, according to Thau, who noted that firefighters’ visibility initially was only about 10 feet.
Crews contained the flames by 7:30 p.m., limiting the damage to the structure to a minimal level, just charring on one wall, according to Thau. PGS employees had also tried to extinguish the fire with a water truck onsite before firefighters arrived.
LPFD units remained at the transfer station until about 9:45 p.m. to manage the smoldering refuse and mop up the scene, according to Thau. The fire appeared to have ignited inside the above-ground pile of trash inside the transfer station, although the exact origin was unclear.
Amid the indoor fire response on a hot evening, one firefighter experienced overexhaustion symptoms at the scene and was taken to Stanford Tri-Valley hospital for treatment. He returned to his shift that night, according to Thau.
There were no service disruptions at PGS as a result of the after-hours fire, according to Thau. Staff there did have to maintain a 24-hour fire watch until the sprinkler system was reactivated.
